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Zimbabwe Briefing - Special Issue
Crisis
in Zimbabwe Coalition
(SA Regional Office)
December 05, 2012
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Statement
on the commemoration of 16 days of activism against gender-based
violence
The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) joins the rest of
the world in commemorating 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based
Violence between the 25th of November and the 10th of December.
This is an occasion during which individuals, families, groupings
and citizens reflect on the violence that is perpetrated on the
basis of gender and commit ourselves to the charting of a future
in which women can be free from violence both inside and outside
their homes.
For the second year in succession the theme From Peace in the Home
to Peace in the World: Let's Challenge Militarism and End
Violence Against Women! has been retained underlining the importance
of peace in the home. We are also prompted to consider our contribution,
or lack thereof, to discouraging and ending practices of violence
against women, especially organised violence and torture that can
only be deliberately and systematically executed.
Practices of violations against women incorporate political and
domestic violence; economic deprivation; human trafficking; sexual
harassment; child marriages; pledging of virgins and wife inheritance
among others.
Although acknowledgement of violence against women has been made,
at national level through the enactment of the Domestic
Violence Act and establishment of the Anti-Domestic Violence
Council and at international level through treaties such as the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), the 2012 Zimstat Quarterly Digest of Statistics revealed
that 15 women are raped in Zimbabwe daily while the ZRP Victim Friendly
Unit reports indicate remarkable increases in domestic violence
cases since 2008. Noble government and inter-governmental organisations'
efforts to deter and criminalise violence against women should be
complimented by behaviour changes and intolerance to violence against
women by the entirety of the Zimbabwean society.
In a society that is still reeling from acts of political violence
that shamelessly did not spare women and little children, the calls
by the country's political leaders for all of us to desist
from any form of violence should be deterring everyone from breaking
the law or committing dastardly acts, that are shunned by even those
allegedly fermenting the violence. The Forum commends members of
civil society who have complemented the responsibility of government
by defending the interests of women and providing various forms
of assistance to militate against the impact of violence against
them. It however regrets that state agents have been tried and found
guilty of perpetrating numerous acts of violence against the country's
citizens, including women. It is also shocking that organisations
which provide medical and psychosocial support to victims of all
forms of violence, have earned the mistrust and wrath of the state,
leading to their harassment and arbitrary arrests.
The Forum urges
society to respect the dignity of women and implores the Government
of Zimbabwe to put in place measures that ensure adequate protection
of women, against political violence by militia groups and uniformed
forces as we approach the 2013 electoral period.
Forum Members
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